Dear LPG,

Like lots of pensioners, I am getting on, I suppose and even though when I visit the doctor who from time to time has me stand on those weighing scales with the measuring stick attached during consultations. I notice that my weight never seems to go down but his report on my height measurement has come in minus a centimetre or two over the years.  I do hear what is being said on that score, but it is not that important and I have usually completely forgotten the fact as soon as I leave the surgery.

They say that you lose height as you get older but, I suppose, it is such a gradual process that I hardly even noticed what was happening.   I am still able to get around the house and do my own cooking, but even though it takes me a little longer to do those things, I still enjoy the challenge.

I don’t know why but as time goes by there are always those things that you don’t use much that somehow managed to get stored in the higher cupboards in the kitchen and it is only when you need one that you realise just how much more effort is needed to reach it.

When this happened to me I got a chair and planned to stand on that, but my attempt to do that helped me to reinforce my realisation of the fact that heights leave me a little unsteady these days and also just how much smaller I am.  More annoying is that I was alone in the house at the time and really needed the ingredient from the top shelf to finish the dish that I was cooking.

I decided that perhaps I would have to do without it on that occasion which I think was a much better outcome than my falling in my effort to reach quite that high. 

The reason for telling the story is that when it comes to birthdays and Christmas presents I am often told that my children and grandchildren cannot think of anything that I need.  An excellent gift option can often be one of those little step-ladders with a steadying arm.

I know that Christmas has gone for this year but as soon as you hear that shorter height reading after stepping on the GP’s scales, it might be time to start dropping a few hints.  

YC, Deptford.